Name: Jessica Campbell
Supervisor: Claudia Romero
Date: June 5, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Project: Dolan Paper's Collection Inventory
Today, I completed the full inventory of Box 2 of 2 from the Dolan Papers Collection, marking another important milestone in my internship. Like Box 1, this box showed signs of wear and rusted brackets, and it will require rehousing in acid-free enclosures. However, the folders inside appeared to be in good condition overall, and many contained historically rich documents. Each folder was carefully reviewed and compared against the original itemized list included in plastic sleeves. This list was cleanly stapled and mostly accurate, but there were a few discrepancies, including two missing items: Folder #290, labeled as a warrant for arrest, and Folder #292, containing excerpts from a government report. The remaining 70 folders offered a wide array of materials, including personal correspondence, legal documents, land deeds, and government records spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the documents were donated as part of the Shipman Collection, with most items attributed to Mrs. L.C. Brite. Notable items included a certificate of election from 1888 (Folder #291), multiple court documents involving Pat Dolan, and a 1908 government pamphlet on homestead law. The continuity of personal and professional life across decades within the Dolan Papers was striking and offers a layered view of a historic figure involved in Texas frontier law, agriculture, and public service. Even with relatively stable document conditions, this part of the collection still requires preservation review, particularly for aged and handwritten materials that may degrade over time.
In addition to the box inventory, I also documented several oversized items that had been separated from the main folders for preservation reasons. These included muster rolls, statements of arrest, and payroll documents from the Frontier Battalion, spanning years like 1876, 1877, and 1879. These items are vital to understanding the operational history and administrative duties of Captain Pat Dolan and his unit. Their physical size and age make them vulnerable, and they will need to be housed flat in proper archival storage. Oversized items #222, #225–227, and #269–269a were all accounted for and detailed according to the original inventory, although some were not located inside Box 2 and had been previously removed. Completing the inventory of Box 2 gave me a clearer sense of the collection’s scope and the interconnectedness of personal, civic, and military life in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands during this era. Many letters reveal Dolan’s relationships with law firms, military officials, and religious figures, while receipts, deeds, and tax forms trace the expansion of land and responsibilities over time. This deep historical context will help inform the future arrangement and descriptive decisions I make in the finding aid. I now have a complete inventory of both boxes and can begin drafting the intellectual arrangement, identifying thematic groupings, and outlining necessary conservation actions. It was a long day of careful review, but immensely rewarding to see this foundational work come together.
Tasks Completed:
- Inventoried Folders #228–292 in Box 2 of the Dolan Papers Collection
- Reviewed and recorded presence, condition, and content details of each folder
- Identified and logged 2 missing folders (#290, #292)
- Documented 6 oversized items not stored in the box (including muster rolls and arrest statements)
- Noted donor attribution (primarily Mrs. L. C. Brite and one from Robert McNellis)
- Prepared materials for rehousing in acid-free folders
- Continued preservation assessments (rusted brackets, staple vs. paperclip conditions, paper fragility)
🗂️ Total Folders Inventoried: 72
📦 Oversized Items Logged: 6
📌 Preservation Needs: Rehousing due to rust and wear; flagging of missing/mislabeled documents
📍 Next Steps:
- Begin preservation flagging for items with environmental damage
- Outline preliminary arrangement and description plan for finding aid
Box 2 of the Dolan Papers Collection continues the story of Captain Patrick Dolan, capturing his civic, legal, and personal activities in West Texas. The folders span over fifty years of correspondence, land dealings, tax records, and government service. This box, like the first, will be fully rehoused in acid-free folders to ensure long-term preservation.
The oversized items in the Dolan Papers Collection include original muster rolls, arrest records, and payroll documents from the Frontier Battalion, Company F. Due to their size and fragility, these pieces are stored separately and will require careful conservation measures. These documents offer a rare, firsthand window into law enforcement and military operations along the Texas frontier in the late 1800s.